EightTrack64
01-01-06, 07:51 PM
I had originally posted this question on another forum. After seeing the web address to this place in a magazine, I thought it better to post here. The original post has been slightly edited to respect the rules of the forum regarding web links and price discussion.
I have been looking at HDTVs. I think it best that I go with a 32'' set. Some brands I was looking at were Toshiba, Samsung, Dell, and Sharp Aquos, or possibly a 37'' set. The 37'' Dell and 37'' LG televisions look good to me. I will include some model numbers at the end so that anyone interested can get an idea of what I am lookng at.
Now, will I need a tuner built in to play the 360 in true HD? It is my understanding that no tuner is needed to watch HD cable or sattelite because the boxes they give you from your cable company, Dish Network or DirecTV will process the digital signal on their own. The tuner is only needed to pick up stations from local broadcasts which are in HD or to take advantage of the picture in picture feature of the TV. So to get the most out of the 360 in HD is a tuner needed?
Next, the native resolutions of a lot of the TVs I looked at was 1366x768. How do I know if that is 720p or 1080i? It sounds as though it is 720p. I want one in the widescreen 16:9 formatt which most are nowadays, so if you take the 1366 and divide by 16 then multiply that by 9 you get 768.75. Which is what I don't understand, does that mean it's just 720p? Which would be best for games in the first place, but I would like a television that can do true 1080i and not just scale it down to 720p because I doubt the difference for gaming would be so great that I would notice. Maybe only when you're changing weapons in a FPS game or some similar quick action. Also the resolution is somewhat important to me since I would like to take advantage of the PC inputs on most TVs and the 1366x768 resolution is not supported as a native one by most PCs.
The contrast ratio I am unclear on, I am thinking the lower the number the better. For example 800:1 or 600:1 are better than 3000:1 or 1000:1. That is basically an uneducated guess, but is it a correct one?
As far as inputs, I need at least two component inputs, RF is useless to me basically but they will come standard anyway. A/V, composite or RCA inputs, whatever you want choose to call them, it would be helpful to have as many of those as possible. Most sets offer two or three of these inputs, but I think the Dell offers eight. Of course the PC input is a plus. But what exactly is a DVI with HDCP input? I am only familiar with the HDMI input and want a set with an HDMI input.
LG 37'' LCD - model number DU-37LZ30
Samsung 32'' LCD - model number LN-R329D and LN-R328W
Toshiba 37'' LCD - model number 37HL95
Toshiba 32'' LCD - model number 32HL95
Sharp AQUOS 37'' LCD - model numbers LC-37GBU5 and LC-37D6U
Dell 37'' LCD - model number W3706MC
Thanks for reading and any answers, comments or suggestions are appreciated.
I have been looking at HDTVs. I think it best that I go with a 32'' set. Some brands I was looking at were Toshiba, Samsung, Dell, and Sharp Aquos, or possibly a 37'' set. The 37'' Dell and 37'' LG televisions look good to me. I will include some model numbers at the end so that anyone interested can get an idea of what I am lookng at.
Now, will I need a tuner built in to play the 360 in true HD? It is my understanding that no tuner is needed to watch HD cable or sattelite because the boxes they give you from your cable company, Dish Network or DirecTV will process the digital signal on their own. The tuner is only needed to pick up stations from local broadcasts which are in HD or to take advantage of the picture in picture feature of the TV. So to get the most out of the 360 in HD is a tuner needed?
Next, the native resolutions of a lot of the TVs I looked at was 1366x768. How do I know if that is 720p or 1080i? It sounds as though it is 720p. I want one in the widescreen 16:9 formatt which most are nowadays, so if you take the 1366 and divide by 16 then multiply that by 9 you get 768.75. Which is what I don't understand, does that mean it's just 720p? Which would be best for games in the first place, but I would like a television that can do true 1080i and not just scale it down to 720p because I doubt the difference for gaming would be so great that I would notice. Maybe only when you're changing weapons in a FPS game or some similar quick action. Also the resolution is somewhat important to me since I would like to take advantage of the PC inputs on most TVs and the 1366x768 resolution is not supported as a native one by most PCs.
The contrast ratio I am unclear on, I am thinking the lower the number the better. For example 800:1 or 600:1 are better than 3000:1 or 1000:1. That is basically an uneducated guess, but is it a correct one?
As far as inputs, I need at least two component inputs, RF is useless to me basically but they will come standard anyway. A/V, composite or RCA inputs, whatever you want choose to call them, it would be helpful to have as many of those as possible. Most sets offer two or three of these inputs, but I think the Dell offers eight. Of course the PC input is a plus. But what exactly is a DVI with HDCP input? I am only familiar with the HDMI input and want a set with an HDMI input.
LG 37'' LCD - model number DU-37LZ30
Samsung 32'' LCD - model number LN-R329D and LN-R328W
Toshiba 37'' LCD - model number 37HL95
Toshiba 32'' LCD - model number 32HL95
Sharp AQUOS 37'' LCD - model numbers LC-37GBU5 and LC-37D6U
Dell 37'' LCD - model number W3706MC
Thanks for reading and any answers, comments or suggestions are appreciated.